alone versus when John finally gets here. The last few weeks have been a
flurry of activity preparing myself and our apartment for his arrival.
In fact, his first words when he arrived
home, exhausted yesterday, was wow the apartment looks CLEAN.I’m not sure if that’s a testament to how he left
it (half moved-in) or my normal cleaning skills (completely possible).
I’m not much of a launderer or cleaner for that matter. But, we all do
know that I can cook! And I cooked up a storm
knowing that his return was imminent.
First on the list was tiramisu, John’s all-time
favorite dessert. I make a quick and easy (yet delicious) version that
he loves. In our never ending healthy quest, I served smaller portions,
and reduced fat cream cheese but it’s still
an extremely rich dessert. I like to put chocolate shavings on top for
a little hint of chocolate and a beautiful presentation (just like
you’d get in our favorite North End restaurant).
Tiramisu
Serves: 9 (9×9 pan)
8 ounces reduced-fat cream cheese
16 ounces mascarpone cheese
1/3 cup sugar
2 tablespoons amaretto
1 cup of warm coffee, brewed (I like to use French Vanilla)
32 lady fingers (I like Stella Dora Margherite Cookies)
Beat together cream cheese, mascarpone, sugar, and
amaretto until well-mixed. Place a large piece of tinfoil in a 9×9
pan. Dunk 16 lady fingers in the coffee mixture, 2-3 seconds, and place
in the pan next to one another, with no holes.
Top with 1/2 of the mascarpone mixture and cover the cookies. Dunk the
remaining lady fingers in the coffee mixture, 2-3 seconds, and place
over the mascarpone mixture (forming a 2nd layer of lady fingers). Top with remaining mascarpone mixture
and smooth. Refrigerate until ready to serve. Top with sifted cocoa powder or chocolate shavings for serving.
This is best made 1-2 days ahead so the flavors
meld and the lady fingers get super soft. A great make-ahead dessert
(and perfect for the summer because it involves ZERO cooking and is
served cold).
Until the next time my oven is on…
